U.S. House Speaker Ryan Says Administration Has Sufficient Money To Address Zika In Unused Ebola Funding

Mar 23, 2016

Associated Press: Ryan: No spending bills without broader budget plan
“…Ryan is backing up Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers, R-Ky., in a fight with the administration over Obama’s almost $2 billion request to combat the Zika virus that is threatening unborn children in Latin America with disastrous birth defects and has spread to the U.S. on a limited basis. Rogers says that the quickest way to get the money to fight Zika would be to use money that’s left over from the $5 billion approved in 2014 to combat the Ebola crisis. … But the administration already has plans for the unused money, including ongoing action against Ebola, ramping up anti-malaria efforts, and helping 17 countries with their health care systems…” (Taylor, 3/22).

Reuters: House Speaker Ryan says U.S. has ‘plenty of money’ for Zika
“… ‘There is plenty of money in the pipeline right now, money that is not going to Ebola, that was already in the pipeline, that can go immediately to Zika,’ the Wisconsin Republican told reporters. He provided no details, but said the money could be ‘reprogrammed’ from other purposes. … Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee estimate that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the State Department have up to $2.7 billion in combined unobligated funding that could be tapped for Zika…” (Morgan, 3/22).